Brief Description Of The Prior Art
Many types of enclosures for storing and carrying luggage on vehicles have heretofore been proposed. In some of these, the luggage carrier assembly is adapted to be mounted to the rear side of vehicles for transport over long distances. A particular type of luggage carrier which a few prior patents have disclosed is one which is to be mounted to the rear side of a recreational vehicle, such as a van.
In my co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 100,568, I disclose a luggage carrier particularly suited for mounting to the rear side of a van, or similar vehicle. The luggage carrier there shown will accommodate a substantial amount of luggage, and can be pivoted between an upwardly extending transport position, in which it is supported adjacent the rear doors of the van, and, in part, by the bumper of the van, to a horizontally extending, stationary position. In the latter position, the luggage carrier assembly projects to the rear of the van, and it can be utilized for eating or sleeping, if desired, by reason of the inclusion therein of the rigid, horizontally extending forward side of the luggage carrier assembly. The luggage carrier disclosed in my co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 100,568 can also be quickly detached from the van and easily rolled from an outside location to the interior of a motel or the like with the luggage still retained in the luggage carrier.
Many proposals have been previously advanced which have as their objective, augmenting the luggage carrying capacity of motor vehicles by attaching racks, luggage bins or similar structures to the vehicle to accommodate luggage carried externally of the vehicle.
One type of structure used for increasing the total capacity of a motor vehicle is a tent-like sheath extension enclosure which is demountably secured to the rear side of a motor vehicle, and which is illustrated and described in Shoemaker U.S. Pat. 4,065,166. This tent-like sheath is made to extend at floor level from the rear side of a vehicle of a type having loading doors at the rear thereof, such as vans or the like. The enclosure is retained on the vehicle by brackets secured to the lower frame of the loading door, and by hangers affixed to the laterally opening door panels which normally close the doorway of the vehicle.
This demountable enclosure, once mounted upon the vehicle, cannot be pivoted between its initially mounted status and a second position, but rather remains in an upright, rearwardly extending position at all times. Neither is the luggage enclosure which is illustrated in this patent susceptible to being rested upon the ground and rolled across the ground while the contents of the enclosure remain therewithin.
A portable luggage carrier mountable on the rear side of compact cars is described and illustrated in Cooper U.S. Pat. No. 3,999,693. Such vehicle-mountable luggage carrier includes a housing which is shaped to provide a forwardly facing wall complementary to the rear wall of the automobile upon which it is to be mounted. The devices which ar used for attaching it to the vehicle include bumper-engaging means which enables it to be secured to the rear bumper of the vehicle, and a knee brace which retains it in a horizontally-extending position. The rear wall of the luggage carrier is provided with a license plate recess light and with tail lights so that the requirements concerning vehicle lighting can be satisfied when the luggage carrier is in use. The luggage carrier of the Cooper system is intended to be mounted in only one position on the rear of the compact vehicle to which it is secured, and it cannot be rolled or otherwise moved across a supporting surface, such as a concrete driveway, an asphalt parking lot or the like when it is demounted from the vehicle.
Spencer U.S. Pat. No. 3,913,811 discloses a utility carrier which includes a horizontally-extending supporting platform or framework which is pivotally connected to another framework which extends vertically. Diagonal braces interconnect the vertically extending framework with the horizontally extending framework, and a plurality of clamps are provided for the purpose of attaching the utility carrier to a horizontally-extending structure which is analogous to a vehicle bumper. In one embodiment of the invention, it is possible to pivot the horizontally extending framework or platform upwardly to a position such that the utility carrier occupies relatively little space at the rear of the vehicle upon which it is mounted.
Reilly U.S. Pat. No. 2,848,271 discloses a tailboard cover for use on open-ended vehicles, such as station wagons. The tailboard referred to is that gate or portion of the station wagon or other vehicle which folds to an up position and in doing so, closes a large portion of the rear wall opening of the vehicle. When pivoted to the down position, it provides a horizontal platform beyond and to the rear of that opening. The tailboard cover contemplated by the Reilly disclosure is a series of frame-forming rods which are covered by canvas panels, and which define an enclosure extending over the horizontally extending tailboard. The entire rear wall opening into the vehicle is thus closed by the protective cover at a time when the tailboard is in the down position, and the volume of the cover is such as to permit luggage and other articles to be disposed within the enclosure while resting upon the horizontally-extending tailboard.
Bosher U.S. Pat. No. 3,082,033 discloses a utility trunk compartment for a passenger automobile vehicle. The utility trunk compartment is adapted to fit within the trunk of the vehicle, and is adapted to carry cargo of unrestricted height. The compartment is a canopy-type enclosure. The function of the utility trunk compartment is to substantially augment the cargo-carrying capacity of the trunk, and to provide a weather-tight covering over the enlarged space within the utility trunk.
Widman U.S. Pat. No. 2,069,345 discloses a trunk compartment provided at the rear of the automobile. A flexible canvas element is used to provide an enclosure between the regular body of the automobile at which the opening to the trunk is defined, and the trunk lid when it is pivoted to the open position. The nature of the structure is such that it may either be made removable from the trunk space, or made a permanent part of the vehicle.
A folding luggage carrier which can be pivotally supported on the rear portion of an automobile, and folded to an operative transport position, or folded downwardly to a horizontally extending position, is shown in Kirkpatrick et al U.S. Pat. No. 1,280,761. No provision is made for transporting this compartment by rolling it across a supporting surface after the compartment has been demounted from the vehicle.
None of the described structures shown in the cited prior art patents afford the versatility and flexibility in use which would be optimum. Moreover, none are specially adapted, in any of the embodiments illustrated or described in the cited patents, to utilization on modern passenger vans which generally, if not universally, include a pair of doors located at the rear side of the van and extending substantially the entire distance from the bumper to the roof of the van. Such doors are usually hung on hinges located at opposite sides of the van. Vans of this type are frequently used for transporting a number of passengers for various business or social occasions, and it is difficult to utilize the van efficiently when the luggage of all of the passengers must be stored inside the van with the passengers. Yet, none of the types of structures illustrated in the described patents is especially useful, if useful at all, on vans of the type described, or upon vehicles which have a very tall or high rear wall expanse from bumper to roof, and which require a capability for being quickly loaded and unloaded with the luggage of a number of passengers.